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I'. ■*i ^ • Vs*'' : .1* JiIt is iin honor ffchat I highly appreciate to have 'been selected by iny com-nides of Jesse S.; Ogden Post, Gi; A. JR., to represent - them v today. As such, I tender ydii their sincere thanks for thecompliment you have ha id -us by coming: here and’ participating in the dedicatory exercises of our' beautifulMemorialHa'• ^ ;Thism^^ng, my friends, recalls to every corlfrade preserit an event in his life which, though, more than fifty years remote, is his most cherished memory. To hkve been a soldier in the Union army, to have fought for and in defense of one's government is indeed a very great honor. To have offered one's life, had the fa te of war so decreed, as a sacrifice for, his country, is, I take it, the supreme test of one's love of country. I maintain that every able bodied man pf military age, claiming the protection of his government, is in duty bound, if he would be classed as a patriot, to respond to the call of that government whenever, it is assailed by a foe, either domestic or foreign.I am proud to stand in .this presence today. Before me is a small remnant of the men furnished by Hendricks county to become a part of that mightv host two million strong, who from '61 to *65, did respond to the call of this, the best government ever formed by human agency. It is, not necessary to refer to the causes .of the civil war. Our government was assailed, our flag was fired upon. The challenge was accepted and by the arbitrarlment of war victory was awarded to the defenders of theUnion.The war was a costly one, not only inthe amount of money expended in its prosecution, but also in the appalling number of human lives sacrificed. What the compensation: A united country, an imperial republic; an infant in years but full grown in resources, both in men and money. .In 18G0 we had a population of thirty millions; today we have, including our insular possessions, one hundred* millions. With an estimated wealth more than one-fourth that of *the civilized world we are extremely optimistic as to our present and future status among the nations of the world.^Ours is the land of equal opportunity. No boy, so poor, of parentage however humble but may aspire to and achieve the highest honors the government can confer. We deny the divine right of kings. We know that the king can do and does many wrongful acts.I have said that we are a united country; over it floats but one flag and to that flag, the emblem of the majesty, tne strength of his countrv, every son of Columbia proclaims his' undying allegiance. We love our country: welovei|s flag. Upon hundreds of battle fieldsFlag of the free hearts, hope and home, By Angel hands to valor given;Its stars have lit the welkin dome,And all its hues were born of heaven.lt;lt;Dissolve this mighty Union?Go stop yon rolling sun,And check the courses of the planets That in their order run.1st threatening us. We believe in a sthte of .preparedness, - and that belief is fortified bythe advice given to his countrymen by the father of his country. Be- holding, in prophetic vision the future greatness of his country, he aiso^saw Utev possibilities of entangling alliances with other powers; his warning and advice against -which was: “In time of peace prepare for war. Our experience has proven the wisdom of his words.Camrades, it is not only the acts, but the words as well, uttered by those whose names are associated with the naval and military achievements of our country of which we are proud, fasten: The great Commodore, StephenDecatur, said, Our country I In its relations with foreign governments mav she always be right; but our countrv, right or wrong. Another one replied to the demand for the surrender of his ship: I have just begun to fight. .Gen-eral John A. Dix said: “If any man attempts to haul down the American flag,shoot him on the ^ ot._ When asked for terms of surrender it was our own 'great com minder who replied: An immediate and unconditional surrrender, or I shall move at once upon your works. Again he said: I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer. Still again, refusing to accept the sword of the great Lee, he immortalized his name and caused his fame to be as enduring as the country he loved and so ably defended, by using these words: “Let us have peace. General Ulysses S. Grant was: our comrade.To the question Are republics ungrateful? I submit 'that, in the treatment of its defenders this government has furnished the answer. The victorious armies in their final pa rede at thts capito! of their country were welcomedwith this assurance of the anpr.i.natioi; of thcii services: The only delA this government can neveV renav is the debt of gratitude it owes its noble defenders. .enactment of liberal pension in providing homos for its de-wards the implied •buu; tion patriotically assumed and dis-for which we. mv comrades, . appreciative and thankful.But let us not claim all the honor and lory for the preservation of the union. We made sacrifices, but there was another powerful contingent to whose unselfish devotion to our cause we are greatly indebted. I speak the praises of the loyal women of the north. The mothers, wives, and sweethearts, too, made sacrifices’scarcely second to ours. The venerable mother, an honored guest, made the great sacrifice in dedicating her boy to the service of her country.. has been the inspiration to heroic action. It is a beautiful flag .'and in design so full of meaning; its thirteen stripes typifying the colonies which tought for and gained their freedom and independence, its forty-eight stars represent the number of states constituting our matchless union, t is truly thet Can this union of states be dissolved? Let the poet answer:No, it is an indissoluble union. It must be so. Brought into being as the result of a war waged seven long years against tyranny and wrong, more 'firmly cemented together by the blood of itssons, shed in subsequent wars, justifies the *sanguine words quoted.I have referred to our numerical strength, but great as it is we are not a warring nation; we prefer rather to cultivate the arts‘of peace. We are not, however, as a nation, committed to the mistaken doctrine of peaeS- at anv pF1(r?*” Disgraceful peace, that secured at the cost of national honor, is less to be preferred than war with its attending horrors. Fortunately no war cloudtheInlaws andpendanthas been charged, are du!vThe mother While to her And speaks a Kissing the With no one To know the Sheds sacred Received onwho conceals her grief, breast her son she presses few brave words and brief patriot brow she blesses., but her secret God ppm that weighs upon her blood as e’er the sod freedom’s field of honor.God bless the women of our land! May they be snared the suffering endured by their sisters during the period of the civil war.What of the Grand Army of the Republic? It is an organization of men who, during the war wore the union blue, and into its ranks none other can enter. Its members are the exemplars of a heroism that was patriotic, and a patriotism that was heroic. It teachea patriotism and seeks to foster the spirit of comradeship formed among the members during the years of soldier life. We teach the sentiment that love of country should be second only to that of love of our creator. 'We teach a patriotism that would cause the sons of t iie republic to rally to its defense whenever assailed; a patriotism so intense that the time may never come whe • a son of Columbia can say that he has no pride In her history, in the glory of her arms, and in her proud position among the nations of the world.I conclude:My country 'tls of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee 1 sing. Long may ourland be bright with freedom’s holy light, protect - us by thy might, Croat1 God our kins-.
Newspaper Details
Danville Gazette
Danville, Indiana, US
Thu, Nov 04, 1915
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Danville P.
IN, USA 05 Aug 2022
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